Floor mop having pivotable handle for changing directions

ABSTRACT

An improved floor mop is described having a handle which is pivotably attached to the mop head and is readily attachable thereto and removable therefrom. In one embodiment of the invention, the mop handle is attached to an upstanding bracket mounted on the rear surface of the mop head, by means of a ring secured to the lower portion of the mop handle. Resilient spring means are provided which cooperate with channels provided on the rear surface of the mop head to secure the cleaning pad in place. In other embodiments of the invention, the handle is attached by a substantially U-shaped hook to an upstanding bracket which is permanently affixed to the rear surface of the mop head. A resilient holding member is provided which prevents the hook from being released from the bracket while at the same time holding the cleaning pad in place.

[ Oct. 29, 1974 1 FLOOR MOP HAVING PIVOTABLE HANDLE FOR CHANGING DIRECTIONS [76] Inventor: Ragnvald G. Leland, PO. Box 4174,

Palm Springs, Calif. 92262 22 Filed: July 28,1972

21 Appl. No: 275,928

[52] U.S. C1 15/231, 15/144 A, 15/145, 15/229 B, 403/213 [51] Int. Cl. A471 13/46, A471 13/255, B25g 3/38 [58] Field of Search 15/120 R, 144 R, 144 A, 15/172, 228, 229 B, 229 BC, 229 BP, 229

BW, 231, 232, 244 A, 147, 235.8, 257.4,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 619,941 2/1899 Cochrun 15/144 A X 666,633 l/l901 Farmer... 15/145 UX 1,112,190 9/1914 Beazley 15/145 UX 1,138,922 5/1915 Allen 15/229 R 1,785,216 12/1930 Thornton 15/229 BP 1,855,181 4/1932 Byars 15/120 R 2,794,198 6/1957 Rogers 15/119 A 3,188,671 6/1965 Kane 15/144A X 3,339,220 9/1967 Barry 15/144 A X 3,506,996 4/1970 Brennan 15/145 X 3,537,123 11/1970 Leland 15/232 X 3,753,267 8/1973 Johnson 15/144 R X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 247,952 ll/1963 Australia 15/144 A 975,681 ll/1964 Great Britain 15/229 BP Primary Examiner-Daniel Blum Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Berman, Bishoff & Platt [57] ABSTRACT An improved floor mop is described having a handle which is pivotably attached to the mop head and is readily attachable thereto and removable therefrom. In one embodiment of the invention, the mop handle is attached to an upstanding bracket mounted on the rear surface of the mop head, by means of a ring secured to the lower portion of the mop handle. Resilient spring means are provided which cooperate with channels provided on the rear surface of the mop head to secure the cleaning pad in place. In other embodiments of the invention, the handle is attached by a substantially U-shaped hook to an upstanding bracket which is permanently affixed to the rear surface of the mop head. A resilient holding member is provided which prevents the hook from being released from the bracket while at the same time holding the cleaning pad in place.

6 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures FLOOR MOP HAVING PIVOTABLE HANDLE FOR CHANGING DIRECTIONS The present invention relates to cleaning devices and more particularly to floor mops having interchangeable heads and cleaning pads for industrial use.

The industrial mop generally in use today, suffers from a number of severe and critical disadvantages. Among these are its weight and clumsiness in operation. Moreover, the present day industrial mop does not have a flat base, but rather utilizes a wire frame which causes only a very small portion of the cleaning pad surface to effectively perform its function. In addition, this mop is not versatile in use since it is only capable of swiveling to a very limited degree due to ,a rather clumsy, inflexible mounting. Moreover, the cleaning pad itself is not readily adapted to efficient cleaning performance since it is held loosely in place on the wire frame by means of tie strings, which require an inordinate amount of time to secure in several places, and an equal, if not greater, amount of time to untie in order to remove and replace the cleaning pad.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved floor mop, intended principally for industrial use, which overcomes the above-stated disadvantages of the prior art mop.

A further and more specific object of the present invention is to provide a floor mop which is easily maneuverable and requires little effort on the part of the operator in order to change the direction of mop travel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved mop construction which comprises a flat base in order to utilize the entire functional surface of the cleaning pad.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved mop construction in which the handle is readily removable from the mop head.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved mop construction in which the cleaning pad is easily secured to and removed from the mop head.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily appreciated from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 in FIG. I, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in FIG. i, looki g in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the resilient spring means for securing the cleaning pad to the mop head in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the handle mounting bracket with a portion of the mop head, of the FIG. 1 embodiment; i

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention with the cleaning pad removed for clarity; I

FIG. 7 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view taken on the line 7.-7in FIG. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 8-8 in FIG. 7, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of the FIG. 6 embodiment with certain parts removed for clarity, illustrating in detail the construction of the mounting bracket for the mop handle and the stop means for the resilient spring means for securing the cleaning pad in place and restraining the mop handle mounting hook from becoming disengaged from the mounting bracket;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the novel resilient spring means utilized in the FIG. 6 embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an exploded partial perspective view illustrating the means by which the mop handle of the FIG. 6 embodiment is secured to the mounting bracket;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a transverse section taken on the line 13-13 in FIG. 12, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 14-14 in FIG. 13, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, and first to FIGS. 1 through 5, there is illustrated a first embodiment of the invention wherein the reference numeral 10 indicates generally a cleaning device constructed in accordance with the invention.

Mop head 16 is of generally flat construction and formed of metal or like material, with side portions 17 which are generally L-shaped in cross-section. Folded over and into the grooves formed by side portions 17 is removable cloth cleaning pad 18 having a depending brush face 19 and overlapping ends 18a to protect furniture and the like. Cleaning pad 18 is secured in place on mop head 16 by means of holding springs 25 having resilient arms 28 which are forced into the grooves formed by side portions 17 of mop head 16 against the folded over portions of cleaning pad 18, as seen most clearly in FIG. 2.

Mop handle 11 is provided with L-shaped slot 26 for receiving L-shaped portion 12a of attaching hook 12 therein. Depending downwardly and at an angle from L-shaped portion 12a is portion 13 which is attached to ring 14, the function of which will presently become apparent. Hook 12 is secured to handle 11 by means of slip ring 15, which may be placed over the top of the handle and slid into place.

As illustrated in detail in FIG. 5, mounting bracket 20 comprises a generally U-shaped upstanding portion 21, a shorter arm 22 which is slightly turned up at its end and'a'l'o'nger arm 23 which is fixedly secured to the rear surface of mop head 16 as by a weld at 24. Bracket 20 is formed of a resilient wire material, so that arm 22 may be slightly raised from the rear surface of mop head 16 and ring 14 slipped therealong and into engagement with upstanding U-shaped portion 21, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. To prevent ring 14 from slipping off portion 21 of bracket 20, substantially cylindrical guard members 27 are welded or otherwise permanently affixed to the rear surface of mop head 16 in contiguous relationship with arms 22 and 23 and abutting upstanding portion 21.

In the construction illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, mop handle 11 may be readily attached to mop head 16 by sliding ring portion 14 of hook 12 along arm 22 and into engagement with upstanding portion 21. The L- shaped portion 12a of hook 12 is then inserted in L- shaped slot 26 in handle 11 and slip ring 15 is slid into place. Cleaning pad 18 may be then attached to mop head 16 by folding its side portions over the upstanding side portions 17a of mop head 16 and springs 25 may then be inserted in place to secure the cleaning pad to mop head 16.

Since ring portion 14 of hook member 12 is free to swivel on upstanding portion 21 of mounting bracket 20, a slight movement of handle 11 will readily enable the operator of the mop to change the direction of mop travel with little or no effort. At the same time, positive engagement between the handle and the mop head is provided, with no possibility of the handle becoming disengaged from the mop head.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 through 11, there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of the present invention, which operates on basically the same principles as the embodiment described above. Cleaning pad 18 has been eliminated in the interest of clarity.

In this embodiment of the invention, the mop assembly is generally designated by the reference numeral 30, and like the above-described embodiment, comprises handle 11 having L-shaped slot 26 therein to receive L-shaped portion 12a of attaching hook 41. In this case, however, the bottom of the attaching hook comprises an upturned elongated section 31, rather than attaching ring 14, as in the above-described embodiment. Slip ring is provided as previously described for securing the attaching hook to handle 11.

Fixedly secured to the rear of mop head 16 is upstanding substantially U-shaped bracket 32 having extending arms 33 and 34 which may be welded to mop head 16. In alignment along the longitudinal axis of mop head 16 with bracket 32 is substantially U-shaped stop member 35, the function of which will presently become apparent.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is illustrated spring member 36, which in this embodiment of the invention performs the dual function of securing the cleaning pad (not illustrated) to mop head 16 and preventing hook member 41 from becoming disengaged from upstanding bracket 32. Spring member 36 comprises resilient arms 37, upstanding hook restraining member 39, inner arms 40 and stop abutting members 38.

In assembling mop 30, as illustrated in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, cleaning pad 18 is folded over upstanding sides 17, as described above, and spring member 36 inserted with arms 37 retaining the cleaning pad in place, much in the manner described above with respect to spring member 25 and arms 28. Upturned portion 31 of hook member 41 is then slipped through bracket 32 and secured to handle 11 in the manner described above with respect to the FIG. 1 embodiment. Upturned handle restraining portion 39 of spring member 36 will abut against hook 41, as illustrated particularly in FIG. 7, while portions 38 will abut against stop member 35 and prevent the spring from moving longitudinally.

The construction described above with respect to the embodiment of FIGS. '6 through 11, although somewhat different in construction, will afford the same ready maneuverability and ease of assembly as described with respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 5. It should be realized that the use of spring member 36 and stop member 35 are not entirely necessary to this embodiment. For example, if upturned portion 31 were made long enough, there would be little chance of its disengaging from upstanding bracket 32, and in this instance, spring members similar to those illustrated in FIG. 4 might be employed to retain the cleaning pad in place, since the handle restraining function of member 39 would no longer be required.

Referring now to FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, there is shown a third embodiment of the present invention which is somewhat similar to the embodiment described above in connection with FIGS. 6 through II. Again, in this embodiment, pad 18 is not shown in the interest ofclarity.

The mop embodiment of FIGS. 12, 13 and I4 is designated generally by the reference numeral and comprises a handle substantially similar to that described above in connection with FIGS. 6 through 11. The handle 11 includes slip ring 15 and an L-shaped book 12 (not shown) having an upturned end 31.

Mop head 16, having portions 17 thereon for securing the cleaning pad, is provided with U-shaped hookengaging member having arms 56 welded, or otherwise permanently affixed to the rear surface of the mop head. Passing through U-shaped member 55 at substantially right angles thereto are elongated support members 57, which are also welded or otherwise permanently affixed to the rear surface of mop head 16.

Spring member 51, somewhat similar in configuration to spring member 36, shown in FIG. 10, is provided for securing the cleaning pad in place (in a manner substantially the same as that described above with respect to the other embodiments) and to retain upturned portion 31 of hook 12 in place. Spring 51 comprises pad retaining arms 52, upturned handle restraining portion 53 and inner arms 54.

In assembling the mop 50, pad 18 is first folded over upstanding sides 17 and spring member 51 is inserted with arms 52 retaining the pad in place. Handle 11 is then placed in the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 12, with upturned portion 31 of hook 12 passing between handle restraining member 53 of spring 51 and U-shaped member 55. As handle 11 is then raised, handle restraining portion 53 of spring 51 will be lifted from the rear surface of mop head 16, permitting the handle 11 to be slightly rotated and upturned portion 31 engaged with U-shaped member 55, as shown in the full line position. Handle restraining portion 53 will then spring back to its original position and retain upturned portion 31 in place. Hook 12 will remain in engagement with member 55 until it is desired to remove it and this may simply be accomplished by reversing the above-described process.

The embodiment described in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, like the previously described embodiments, affords the user extreme flexibility in the use of the mop by the swivel action of the hook and hook-engaging means of the rear of the mop head.

While certain specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is, therefore, intended that the scope of this invention be defined only by the claims appended hereinbelow.

I claim:

1. A cleaning device comprising in combination:

a. a substantially flat, substantially rectangular plate member wherein the longer sides are upturned for engagement with a cleaning pad;

b. bracket means having an upstanding inverted U- shaped portion secured to said plate member;

ct handle means;

d. mounting means secured to said handle means and having an upturned, substantially planar end portion removed from the portion engageable with said handle and readily engageable with and disengageable from said U-shaped portion of said bracket for hookingly mounting said handle means to said bracket; and

e. spring means engaging both said upturned sides of the plate member and said upturned end of the mounting means for retaining said cleaning pad in place and for preventing said upturned end from becoming disengaged from said U-shaped portion cluding slip ring means mounted on said handle means for retaining said engageable portion in said slot.

5. The cleaning device set forth in claim I further including stop means mounted on said plate for retaining said spring in place.

6. The cleaning device set forth in claim 1 further including support means mounted on the rear of said plate member for supporting said U-shaped portion and said spring means. 

1. A cleaning device comprising in combination: a. a substantially flat, substantially rectangular plate member wherein the longer sides are upturned for engagement with a cleaning pad; b. bracket means having an upstanding inverted U-shaped portion secured to said plate member; c. handle means; d. mounting means secured to said handle means and having an upturned, substantially planar end portion removed from the portion engageable with said handle and readily engageable with and disengageable from said U-shaped portion of said bracket for hookingly mounting said handle means to said bracket; and e. spring means engaging both said upturned sides of the plate member and said upturned end of the mounting means for retaining said cleaning pad in place and for preventing said upturned end from becoming disengaged from said U-shaped portion of said bracket.
 2. The cleaning device set forth in claim 1, wherein said handle means cOmprises a slot and said mounting means comprises a portion engageable in said slot.
 3. The cleaning device set forth in claim 2, wherein said engageable portion of said mounting means and said slot are substantially L-shaped.
 4. The cleaning device set forth in claim 2 further including slip ring means mounted on said handle means for retaining said engageable portion in said slot.
 5. The cleaning device set forth in claim 1 further including stop means mounted on said plate for retaining said spring in place.
 6. The cleaning device set forth in claim 1 further including support means mounted on the rear of said plate member for supporting said U-shaped portion and said spring means. 